Ballincollig defeat struggling Cork rivals UCC Demons as Super League surge continues
Ballincollig's Latrell Jossell looks for the hoop under pressure from UCC Demons' Daryl Cuff during their Men's Super League clash at the Mardyke Arena. Picture: David Keane.
Ballincollig maintained their surge in the Domino’s Men’s Super League with a deserved win over Cork rivals at the Mardyke Arena on Friday.
In a competitive game, Demons had their opportunities but turnovers and poor shooting options cost them dearly against a Ballincollig side who just did enough to get the all-important win.
They had solid contributions from Latavious Mitchell (26), Lattrell Jossell (20) and Josh Steel, who chipped in with 17 points.
Tala Fam was quick into his stride with a neat jumper for the hosts before a stunning Ballincollig Josh Steel three-pointer. In the early exchanges, Blalincollig looked well oganised but Demons, inspired by Luke Sutton, rallied to lead by four points in the sixth minute.
Hard to believe Sutton hadn’t been afforded a minute since his team's opening game against Neptune but he showed enough in this game to warrant more court-time going forward. He chipped in with six points and didn’t look out of place.
The game swayed too and fro in the first quarter but a late brace of free throws from Shariff Black edged Demons ahead by the minimum 22-21.
Alberto Rodriguez gave Ballincollig the perfect start to the second period but in all truth Demons' defence was a shambles as they continued to give their opponents unchallenged lay-ups. Their sloppiness had Ballincollig up by three.
There was little doubt the home side were hanging on but Ballincollig were not firing fully either and consecutive baskets from Fam brought the sides level with 3.06 remaining to the interval. Veteran Kyle Hosford has returned to the fold for Demons and is getting better with each game. His ability to assist will help this struggling Demons side in the coming months.
Mitchell and Steel are two quality professionals who do their business clinically and they were firing for the visitors. Ballincollig had a chance to finish with a flourish in their last possession but Demons kept them at bay to trail 44-40 at the interval.
The stats made interesting reading as Demons made 12 from 26 attempts inside the paint, a 46% average, but outside the arc they only made 3/13 (23%). Ballincollig fared better outside the arc with a 6/10 reading with a 60% average and 11/27 inside the paint (41%).
On the restart, Ballincollig’s Mitchell continued to dominate proceedings and within three minutes his team had extended their lead to nine points. Ballincollig lost Steel in the 26th minute with a cut over his eye but his side continued to dominate with Jossell showing neat touches with his jumpers inside and outside the paint.
The overall play in the closing minutes of this quarter was scrappy but Ballincollig looked to be in the driving seat when commanding a nine-point lead: 70-61.
Early in the fourth quarter, Demons reduced the lead to three but they were guilty of turning the ball over on three occasions when they needed a basket.
Despite all their errors, they only trailed by four points with six minutes remaining, with Mitchell sitting down for the visitors after picking up his fourth foul.
Coming down the stretch, Ballincollig found the key baskets as Demons' winless run since the first Super League game continues with relegation now a serious threat.
T Fam 24, S Black 16, D Lehane 10.
L Mitchell 27, L Jossell 20, J Steel 17.
S Hannigan, B Horgan, J Beckom, L Sutton, K Hosford, J Hannigan, D Lehane, T Fam Thiam, D Cuff, C Looney, L Kivuvu, J Doles, S Black.
A O’Sullivan, J Steel, L Jossell, D O’Herlihy, A Rodriguez, C O’Sullivan, R O’Sullivan, C Blount, L O’Sullivan, D Corkery, L Mitchell, R O’Flynn.
Linda Cassidy (Dublin), Emer Buckley (Kerry), Leanne Ahern (Limerick).
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